Me and Charlie boy used to go walking,
Sittin’ in the woods behind my house
When being lovers meant a stolen kiss
And holding hands with nobody else around

Charlie said he wanted to get married
But we were only ten so we’d have to wait
He said we’d never let our love run dry like so many do these days

So we treat our love like a firefly,
Like it only gets to shine for a little while
Catch it in a mason jar and with holes in the top
And run like hell to show it off
Oh promises we made when we’d go walking
That’s just me and Charlie talking

Charlie always said he’d like to leave here,
So he turned eighteen and he left our sleepy town
Letters came and went and I kept waiting
For Charlie to come back and bring the life he’d found
It’s funny how time and distance change you
The road you take don’t always lead you home
You can start a love with good intentions
Then you look up and it’s gone

So you treat your love like a firefly
Like it only gets to shine for a little while
Catch it in a mason jar and with holes in the top
And run like hell to show it off
Oh the promises we made when we’d go walking
That’s just me and Charlie talking

Now and then I sometimes think of Charlie
How we thought we new it all back then
Now I’d give anything to feel love from a child’s heart again

So you treat your love like a firefly
Like it only gets to shine for a little while
Catch it in a mason jar and with holes in the top
And run like hell to show it off
Oh, promises we made when we’d go walking
That’s just me and Charlie, me and Charlie talking

As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto

And his mama cries
Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need
It’s another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto

People, don’t you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way

Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto

And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto

Then one night in desperation
A young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
Tries to run, but he don’t get far
And his mama cries
As a crowd gathers ’round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto

As her young man dies,
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’,
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Why the sudden change?

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Betta say my name

Any other day I would call you would say
“Baby how’s your day?” But today it ain’t the same
Every other word is a uh hun, yeah okay
Could it be that you are at the crib wit another lady?
If you took it there, first of all let me say
“I am not the one to sit around and be played”
So prove yourself to me and the girl that your playin’
Why don’t you say the things that you said to me yesterday?

I know you sayin’ I’m assuming things
Something’s goin’ down that’s the way it seems
Shouldn’t be a reason why your acting strange
Nobody’s holding you back from me
‘Cause I know how you usually do
When you sayin’ everything to me times 2
Why can’t you just tell the truth?
If somebody’s there tell me who

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Why the sudden change?

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Betta say my name

What is up wit this, tell the truth who you with?
How would you like it if I came over wit my clique?
Don’t try to change it, now see you got to bounce
When 2 seconds ago you said you just got in the house
It’s so hard to believe that you were home by yourself
When I just heard the voice, heard the voice of someone else
Just this question, why do you feel you got to lie?
You caught up in your game, you cannot say my name

I know you sayin’ I’m assuming things
Something’s goin’ down that’s the way it seems
Shouldn’t be a reason why your acting strange
If nobody’s holding you back from me
‘Cause I know how you usually do
When you sayin’ everything to me times 2
Why can’t you just tell the truth?
If somebody’s there tell me who

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Why the sudden change?

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Betta say my name

Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
Oh

I know you sayin’ I’m assuming things
Something’s goin’ down that’s the way it seems
Shouldn’t be a reason why your acting strange
If nobody’s holding you back from me
‘Cause I know how you usually do
When you sayin’ everything to me times 2
Why can’t you just tell the truth?
If somebody’s there tell me who

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Why the sudden change?

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Betta say my name

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Why the sudden change?

Say my name, say my name
If no one is around you, say, “Baby I love you”
If you ain’t runnin’ game
Say my name, say my name
You acting kind of shady, ain’t callin’ me baby
Betta say my name

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me
I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed
She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb
In the shape of an “L” on her forehead

Well the years start coming and they don’t stop coming
Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running
Didn’t make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see
So what’s wrong with taking the back streets
You’ll never know if you don’t go
You’ll never shine if you don’t glow

[Chorus]
Hey now you’re an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you’re a Rock Star get the show on get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold

It’s a cool place and they say it gets colder
You’re bundled up now but wait ’til you get older
But the meteor men beg to differ
Judging by the hole in the satellite picture
The ice we skate is getting pretty thin
The water’s getting warm so you might as well swim
My world’s on fire how about yours
That’s the way I like it and I never get bored

[Chorus: x2]

Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas
I need to get myself away from this place
I said yep what a concept
I could use a little fuel myself
And we could all use a little change

Well, the years start coming and they don’t stop coming
Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running
Didn’t make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do, so much to see
So what’s wrong with taking the back streets
You’ll never know if you don’t go
You’ll never shine if you don’t glow